HONG KONG Eastern dominated Alab Pilipinas from the get-go, extending its win streak to nine with a 100-87 victory on Friday night in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) at the Southorn Stadium in Wan Chai.
The Long Lions never let up from the opening buzzer and tied their own league record for most triples in the game with 17 as they improved an already league-best record to 14-2 win-loss.
Alab Pilipinas lost for the fourth time in its last five outings to slip to a 9-8 win-loss record.
Marcus Elliott had 23 points while Lee Ki added 21 points while going 5-of-7 clip on threes for Hong Kong, which matched the three-point league record it set just last February 22 against the Kaohsiung Truth.
Bobby Ray Parks Jr. had 21 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists while Lawrence Domingo had 19 points and nine rebounds for an Alab side that never really recovered after a 0-6 start.
The Philippine side trailed by as many as 28 points in the contest.
It's now Hong Kong's turn to make the trip to the Philippines for the second game of a trilogy against Alab Pilipinas on Sunday at the Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Laguna.
Hong Kong pounced on the slow-starting Philippine side from the opening buzzer and Ki converted a buzzer-beating three to end the first quarter for a 33-18 lead.
Tyler Lamb backed up Elliot and Ki with 20 points, including back-to-back triples to start the third period that enabled Hong Kong to post its biggest lead at 68-40.
Alab was able to slice the gap to 15 near the close of the third but Elliott converted a deflating buzzer-beating three to increase Hong Kong’s lead to 86-68 entering the fourth.
Newly-signed Alab cager Kiefer Ravena didn’t make the trip to Hong Kong as he is still recovering from a hand injury.
Alab remained in third place but saw its lead over fourth-running Saigon (6-9) shrink again.
The scores:
Hong Kong Eastern (100) — Elliott 23, K. Lee 21, Lamb 20, Boone 13, S. Chan 10, Guinchard 7, S. Fong 6, C. Ip 0, C. Tang 0, C. Chung 0, C. Wu 0, T. Lau 0.
Alab Pilipinas (87) — Parks 21, Domingo 19, Carter 14, Hughes 14, Fortuna 10, Acuna 9, Hubalde 0, Cawaling 0, Celiz 0.
Quarterscores: 33-18, 60-40, 86-68, 100-87.